Smoking Laws Ignored In Malta

Almost 90 percent of people are in favour of banning smoking in public places...

Malta was one of the first nations in Europe to stop smoking in public places and this was hailed as a great step to help its citizens give up the harmful habit. However according to a Eurobarometer research project on cigarette smoking it appears that over 41 percent of Maltese citizens think that the laws are not being obeyed.

If you are attempting to give up smoking and the law forbids smoking in public places it makes the whole exercise so much easier for you.  You are not constantly tempted by other people smoking at restaurants and the smokers are made to go outside to light up.  Other countries in Europe where smoking is banned in public places are Ireland, Italy and Sweden and very soon the United Kingdom is going to follow suit, (in fact smoking has already been banned in public in Scotland).

The Eurobarometer research project noted that in Ireland only nine percent felt the rules were being broken with regard to smoking in public places, the figure was fourteen percent for Sweden and 24 percent for Italy . With Malta at a whopping 41 percent it is clear that the Maltese police need to take a firmer stand on making sure that bars and restaurants do not allow smoking on the premises.

It is typical of the Southern European countries that they have many laws to govern citizens but very often they are not enforced effectively. According to some estimates around 80,000 people a year in the European Union die from the effects of passive smoking.  The Eurobarometer research project also noted that almost 90 percent of people are in favor of banning smoking in public places.  People who work in bars and restaurants and who don’t smoke are especially keen to see the habit stamped out. 

A lot of articles have been appearing in the press about smoking recently as on the 31st May it is The World No Tobacco Day initiated by the World Health Organisation. On top of this the world biggest drug company Pfizer has just launched a new drug to help people quit the smoking habit. It is called Champix and it works by reducing the cravings for cigarettes.